Coiling device and attachment for drill presses or the like



Feb. 5, 1952 E. T. OLIVER 2,584,154

COILING DEVICE AND ATTACHMENT FOR DRILL PRESSES OR LIKE Filed June 5, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET l nvmvrox. 13 Emersan 1? 071067.

ATTORNEY Feb. 5, 1952 E. T. OLIVER 2,584,154

COILING DEVICE AND ATTACHMENT FOR DRILL PRESSES OR THE LIKE Filed June 5, 1947 i 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. Ema-7:507? I? 021' 0872' BY M0 ATTORNE).

Patented Feb. 5, 19 52 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COILING DEVICE AND ATTACHMENT FOR DRILL PRESSES OR THE LIKE Emerson T. Oliver, Marblehead, Mass.

Application June 5, 1947, Serial No. 752,704

4 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to coiling machines, and more particularly to machines for coiling metal wire and other elastic materials into springs or other elastic coiled members.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved coiling machine that shall be simple in construction, efiicient in operation and inexpensive.

A further object is to provide a new and improved coiling machine of the above-described character with the aid of which it shall be possible readily to change the spacing'of the convolutions of the coil and, therefore, the pitch also.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a new and improved coiling attachment that may be readily adapted to existing machines, like drill presses, used previously for other purposes. Instead of necessitatingthe use of a separate expensive coiling machine, therefore, the present invention permits coiling with the aid of other machines at times when they are not otherwise in use.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will now be more fully explained in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective of a drill press showing one form of the attachment of the present invention mounted thereon; Fig. 2 is a plan of the attachment shown in Fig. 1, upon a larger scale, but without, the coiling mandrel; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, upon a still larger scale, taken upon the line 3-13 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan similar to Fig. 2, upon a still larger scale, partly in horizontal section upon the line l' l of Fig. 6, looking downward in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is an elevation of the coiling mandrel shown in Fig. 1, upon a larger scale; Fig. 6 is a vertical section upon the broken line 66 of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. '7 is a section similar to Fig. 6, showing the mandrel and the bending rolls differently adjusted relatively, in order to produce a differently pitched coil the convolutions of which are differently spaced; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modification; Fig. 9 is a plan similar to Fig. 2, upon a larger scale, but showing also the mandrel in horizontal section, with an open loop of wire therearound prior to the commencement of the coiling operation; and Fig. 10 is a View similar to Fig. 9 showing the parts ready to commence coiling.

The novel attachment of the present invention comprises a coiling mandrel 3, shown clutched in 1 the rotary chuck 2 of a drill press, and an attachframe I of the machine and on which is mounted a supporting-arm plate 9 or supporting plates 23, 24 for bending rolls 8. The bending rolls 3 cooperate with the mandrel 3 to convert a wire i] into a coil l9.

In order to facilitate their use with the attachment, the rolls 8 are shown as anti-friction rolls, instead of being positively driven.

Each anti-friction roll 8 is shown supported by ball bearings about a screw or axle 20 that is threaded into the roll-supporting plate 9, with a washer 28 interposed. AS the screws or axles 2c are shown parallel to the mandrel 3, the antifriction rolls 8 are freely rotatable on their ball bearings, in a, plane at right angles to the mandrel 3, about axes parallel to the mandrel 3. The rolls 8 need not, however, necessarily be only two in number, as shown.

The effective or coiling part of the mandrel 3 is constituted of a portion 16 of reduced diameter that, as shown more particularly in Figs. 4, 9 and 10, is positioned preferably adjacent to, and somewhat in front of, the two rolls 8, along the perpendicular bisector of the line joining their centers. As is also shown in Figs. 4, 9 and 10, this reduced diameter of the coiling portion N5 of the mandrel 3 is preferably larger than the distance between the peripheral points of the two bending rolls 8 that are nearest to each other. When the wire I1 is caused to travel in the space between the mandrel l6 and the rolls 8, therefore, it becomes bent by reason of the bending pressure between the mandrel 3 and the rolls 8, as indicated at spaced points 38 in Fig. 4..

Before starting the coiling operation, the supporting plate 9 for the rolls 8 is first separated from the mandrel 3, as illustrated inFig. 9, to carry the rolls 8 away from the mandrel 3. This enables slipping over the reduced coiling portion l6 of the mandrel, in a peripherally or circumferentially disposed groove l8 thereof, a loop til at the free end 4| of thewire ll. A cam ii] is then pivotally manipulated about a pivot H, threaded in the attachment plate 3, to force the roll-supporting plate 9 toward the mandrel 3, thereby to cause the rolls 8 to engage the loop 40 of the wire ll, as illustrated in Fig. 10, in positions partially overlying the edge of the open- .ing l5 in the base plate 6. The mandrel 3 is then started rotating. With the free end 4: of the wire I? occupying the position shown, the mandrel 3 will be rotated clockwise. The rollsupporting plate 9 and the rolls 8 carried thereby are prevented from becoming displaced from 39, to produce the before-mentioned. bends at 38. Nearly a half-convolution 33 becomes thus bent into the wire I'I, between spaced points 3 3, in the plane 39-39, adjacent to the groove IS. The near-half-convolution 33 of the wire I! becomes solidly clamped or gripped between the spaced points 33 and the walls of the groove I3. The walls of the groove It", the peripheries of the rolls 8, or both; may be knurled or otherwise roughened, as shown at 34; Fig. 5; in order to increase frictionally the gripping or -clamping action or the wire IT by the rolls 3' against the walls or" the groove i8 during theircoiling of the wire II. It is preferred ts khan the walls of the grove l8 only, as sh'o'wh. H

As the mandrel, 3 is disposed somewhat in front of the peri heral portions of the rolls 8 that are nearest to each other, and as the diame= ter or the coming portion1$ ortn'e mandrel larger than the distance between these nearest together peripheralportiohs, the nearly half as wire it is disposed around the pen" ry of the mandrel 3 over an angle of this periphery somewhat less than 186 degrees. It is for this reason that the portion 33 of the wire I'I between miss ate points 38 is not quite a hair-teammate. Theoutside surface of the near-half-c'o'h't H is solidly gripped be en the anti-friction rolls 8 and the inside surface by the walls of the groove I3. I V With conti ued rotation tine "mandrel 3, the now-bent portion of the V I T will become progressively forced out the walls or the mandrel groove 13 and the ri'ght-hahd antifriction roll 8, as shown atjli, Figs 4, '6 and '1. With further continued rotation of the mandrel 3, the near-half-convolut'ion 33 9f the wire will become converted into a complete convolus tion, the forward end 3! of which, "as s hown in Figs, 6 and}, will becorne positioned directly under the still-unbent portion of the wire I'Ia that is about to enter the groove I8. e V

In .due time, a portion of the coil I9, which may be represented 'as the free end 4i of the wire I1, shown in Figs. 9 and'lO, or any other portion, such as the before described portion 3 I,

will descend below the level of the lowerQfaces of the cylindrical wall portions of the rolls 8 As soon as this happens, becoming released from the confining action of the rolls s the portionof the coil I9 below therolls 8, as it is constituted of sp ring metal, will, by reason of its inherent elasticity, expand suddenly outward, toward the left, as viewed in Figs. '6 and 7, under and into engagement with the lower face 3B of the cylindrical wall portion of the left-hand roll 8. The portion of Ithecoil' I9 so expanding outward is sh' own inFigsQfS and '7 as the portion 3!. By spring "tension of the coil l9, this would tend to pull the whole Wire I"! under the runs a. suehfajetion is prevented, a e ratttnat a portion of a convolution of the Wire 11 is sun confined "use 33 or the wire by the rolls 8 in the mandrel groove I8. The spring tension exerted on the portion 3I of the coil I9 by the face 36 of the left-hand roll 8.

therefore, is transmitted only to the portion of the wire I'I, shown at 30, that is just issuing from the mandrel groove I8, between the coiling portion I6 of the mandrel 3 and the right-hand roll 8. This portion 30 is maintained just below, but at nearly the" 1eve1 of, the mandrel groove I8 by the portion or" the lower peripherally disposed shoulder 35 of this groove I3 that is disposed adjacent tojthe right-hand roll 3. The

.portion 30 cannot, therefore, move downward,

in response tothe spring tension exerted on the portion 3| by the lower face 36 of the left-hand anti-friction roll 8...

The part of the convolution of the coil I9 between the portions 30 and 3I, therefore, becomes forced to assume the po'sition illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. The inclination to the axis of the mandrel 3 of this arser the convolution between the portions 38 and 3 i is shown greater Fig. 6 than Fig. 7, because the mandrel groove I3 is shown in Fig. 6 ate level above the face 33 of the left-hand roll 8 that is higher than the cor= responding level shown in Fig. 7. The spacing of successive convolutions of the coil IE, and its consequent pitch, are thus determined by the distance between the shoulder 35 of the mandrel groove I8 and the lower-face 36 of the left-hand bending rol1'8. The lower face 33 of the lefthand roll 8, therefore, in eombination with the position of the mandrel 3, thus constitutes a pitch-determining and convolution=spacing element.

By raising and lowering the mandrel 3 with respect to the position of the rolls 3, as through the medium of a'handle 32 of the machine I, it is possible, therefore, to control the spacing of successive convolutions of the coil I9 and the consequent pitch.

The coil I9, the pitch "and the spacing of the convolutions of which have been thus determined, travels downward into a recess 3"! ol the bending-roll-s11phbiting plate 9, and through the opening I5 in the attachment plate 4 and an elongated slotted opening 21th the bed frame of the machine 'I.

The Wire I1 is fed between the mandrel 3 and the bending 'r'oll'sli frame. supply I of the wire on a reel 5 that is mounted bn a pivoted arm 5. The wire I! becomes automatically unwound from the reel 6 in response to the coiling of the wire about the rotating mandrel 3, as before de- 'a nut to hold the attachment plate 4 fixed "to the bed frame I. The ljOSitibl'l 6f the efttlil:l h'i'l Ilt plate 4 on th'e bedfr'aine I of the'machine'inay be adjusted by adjusting'the position of the 'bolt IS in the eloiigated'slotted o enin 3?.

The suppflrtin'g platejfl, together with the bending rolls 8 serum thefby, is held I'i'rr'n'ly though yieldingly 'in engagement with the 'attachment base plate 4, in all positions of adjustment 0f the lbll suii'poltii'ig plate on the attachment 'base plate 54. by "a stiff coil s rin 21. The spring 21 is shown "fil'dii'ritd over "a screw [2 that, extending through a washer 29 that is disposed in engagement with the supporting plate Q and an elongated slot M of the plate 9, is threaded into the attachment plate 4. The spring 2! is tensioned between the head of the screw 12 and the washer 29. It is because the slot it is elongated that it is possible, as before described, to adjust the supporting plate 9 upon the attachment plate 4 away from the mandrel 3, as shown in Fig. 9, and then toward the mandrel 3, as shown in Fig. 10. This adjustment, of course, is effected in opposition to the action of the spring 24.. The adjustment of the bending rolls 8 away from the mandrel, illustrated in Fig. 9, as already stated, permits of separating the rolls 8 from the mandrel 3 in order to provide suficient space in which to insert the open loop til at the free end 4| of the wire 5?, prior to commencing the coiling operation. The adjustment illustrated in Fig. 10, according to which the loop at of the wire ll becomes clamped by the rolls 8 against the walls of the groove ill of the mandrel, permits of employing the attachment with wires ll of different thickness and with mandrels 3 of different diameter. Within limits, moreover, it is possible to vary the diameter of the coil is even when employing mandrels 3 of the same diameter. The diameter of the coil iii may be increased by adjusting the rolls 8 to a position not quite so far to the right, as shown in Fig. 10, so that the wire would not hug the walls of the groove l8 so tightly as has been described above. Though the effect of the gripping action of the knurled walls of the mandrel groove It becomes thereby lessened, a very effective coiling of a slightly larger-diameter coil may nevertheless be produced. Because of the yielding action of the spring 2i, furthermor the supporting plate 9 is rendered free to pivot about the screw l2 on the base 4, in order to enable the rolls 8 to adjust themselves automatically so as to maintain continuous engagement with the wire i1 during the coiling operation irrespective of variations in the uniformity of the diameter of different wires IT. The V-shape of the groove is adapts the device for operation with different-diameter wires I? while continuing to maintain a firm grip between the groove 18 and the rolls 8 irrespective of the diameter of the wire [1.

In some cases, however, it is desirable to adjust not only the position of the rolls 8 relative to the mandrel 3, but also the distance between the rolls 8, particularly where mandrels 3 of substantially different diameter are to be employed. This result may be attained as illustrated, for example, in Fig. 8, according to which the rolls 8 are mounted upon the separate supporting plates 23 and 24, each pivoted to the attachment plate l at 25, and the pivotal adjustment of which is controlled by a set screw 26. Different-diameter rolls 8 could also be used. Wires ll of different diameter may be coiled without varying the angle between the arms 23 and 24 by loosening the bolt l3, longitudinally adjusting the attachment support 4, and retightening the bolt I3 in its readjusted position in the elongated slotted opening 21. porting arms 23 and 2d are freely pivoted as a unit about the pivot 25 similarly to the pivotal arrangement of the supporting plate 9 about the pivot screw l2.

Further modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art, and all such are considered to The supfall within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A coiling-device attachment for a machine provided with a frame and a rotary chuck for receiving a mandrel, said attachment comprising abase plate having an opening for receiving the completed coil, said base plate being adapted to be fixed to said frame, supporting means mounted on said base plate near said opening, parallel axles carried by said supporting means, coiling rolls for cooperating with the mandrel to form the coil therebetween andsupportedfor rotation about said axles, each coiling roll being provided with a cylindrical wall portion, the lower faces of said wall portions being adapted partially to overlie the edge of said opening, whereby said coil may have its pitchdetermined by the lower face of one of said wall portions as said coil enters said opening, and means whereby said supporting means and rolls may be adjusted toward and away from said base plate opening.

2. A coiling-device attachment for a machine provided with a frame and a rotary chuck for receiving a mandrel, said attachment comprising a base plate having an opening for receiving the completed coil, said base plate being adapted to be fixed to said frame, a pair of arms, means for pivotally mounting said arms on said base plate, axle spaced from said pivoted mounting means and carried b each of said arms in parallel relation, coiling rolls for cooperating with the mandrel to form the coil therebetween and supported for rotation about said axles, each coiling roll being provided with a cylindrical wall portion, the lower faces of said wall portions being adapted partially to overlie the edge of said opening, whereby said coil may have its pitch determined by the lower face of one of said wall portion as said coil enters said opening, and means whereby said arms and rolls may be adjusted about said pivotal mounting means to move said rolls toward and away from said base plate opening.

3. A coiling machine having, in combination, a frame, a rotary chuck, a cylindrical mandrel adapted to be clutched in the chuck and provided with a peripherally disposed groove, two rolls mounted upon the frame to rotate freely about axes substantially parallel to the axis of the mandrel adjacent to the groove when sc clutched in the chuck and provided with wall substantially tangential to a substantially circular arc substantially concentric with the cylindrical surface of the mandrel at points spaced from each other less than degrees along the said are in order that inherently resilient material to be coiled may become gripped at said spaced points along said arc in the groove between the mandrel and the rolls, means supported by said frame whereby said rolls may be adjusted away from the mandrel in order to facilitate initially positioning the material in the groove between the mandrel and the rolls and toward the mandrel in order to grip the initially positioned material at said spaced points along said are in the groove between the mandrel and the rolls, whereby rotation of the chuck will effect rotation of the mandrel about its axis to cause the mandrel to advance the material gripped at said spaced points in the groove between the mandrel and the rolls in order to coil the gripped material and to advance the coiled material beyond the groove into an unconfined space beyond a face of one roll in order to enable the coiled material to expand by its inherent resiliency in said unconfined space and in engage- I merit with said face to determine the pitch of the coiled material, the mandrel and the roll bein relatively adjustable longitudinally of the mandrel to adjust the pitch.

1. A coiling machine of the character described in claim. 3 and in which the rolls. are mounted upon a pair of arms' pivotally adjustable upon the frame in order that the rolls may be adjusted toward, and. away fromzthe. mandrel.

EMERSON T; OLIVER.

REFERENCES CITED- The following references are of record in the the of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name. Date 58,156 Vase Sept. 18, 1866 Number- Name Date- Roux Mar. 10, 1896 Hyatt Aug. 3, 1897 Trouve Dec. 2, 1902 Weaver Jan. 9, 1906 Richardson July 30, 1907 Lockwood July 12, 1910 Loutrel 1 Apr. 27, 1915 Cadman 1- May 2, 1916 Hathaway Feb. 8, 192 1 Holmgreen Mar. 29, 1921 Moore Jan. 31, 1922 Bowers Oct. 21, 1924 Wagenbach Oct. 16, 1928 Ni'gro Feb. 14, 1933 Reimers Apr. 3, 1934 Platt Jan. 7, 1941 Balla July 23, 1946 

